


The Marks We Bare

by ArchangelUnmei



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen, Multi, Scars, Tattoos, turned out more gen than expected whoops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 07:59:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19808059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArchangelUnmei/pseuds/ArchangelUnmei
Summary: After a joint training session, the Glaives get their first chance to see the marks Cor carries.





	The Marks We Bare

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt "Tattoos" at the [FFXV Rarepair Army](https://ffxv-rarepair-army.tumblr.com/). Meant to be Cor/Glaives, but ended up being pretty gen, whoops. Oh well, it gave me a chance to explore my tattooed Cor headcanons. XD

"Fucking shit, that's the most badass thing I've ever seen!"

Cor pauses with his shirt halfway over his head, then gives a mental shrug and pulls it the rest of the way off. He's used to various reactions to his body, ranging from a quiet hush over the amount and severity of his scars to a scoffing disapproval over his tattoos. This... is somewhat new, though. He can feel the collective eyes of all the Glaive roaming over his back. 

Especially when he feels warm, callused hands sliding over his skin, down along his ribs as Nyx moves in close to get a good look at the scarred tattoo across the back of his shoulder. Cor shivers, tossing his shirt aside and trying not to be too amused as Crowe circles him like a shark, eyes darting between the various scars and marks before she disappears behind him again. Her expression is what catches Cor's attention, her usually sharp eyes a little wide. 

"Move," she demands, nudging Nyx and Libertus with her hip so she can lean in and get a good look too. 

Cor cranes his neck back to try and see them, but Luche smacks his hip to keep him in place. He does catch a glimpse of Titus - the only one of them who's seen Cor shirtless before - standing a few steps back with his arms crossed, looking amused. 

Cor has to admit he's probably something of a sight, especially if you're not expecting it. Thirty years of fighting on the front lines have given him plenty of chances to accumulate scars; blades and burns and bullet holes. 

What the Glaives are examining with such intensity is an intricate tattoo across the back of Cor's right shoulder; done all in shades of black and grey, a skull wearing a crown, its jaw gaping in an inscrutable grin. Obviously meant to represent the Lucis Caelum line, it's marred by a circular scar almost dead centre in one of the eye sockets. 

"...Did you get the tattoo to emphasize the scar?" Libertus asks curiously after a moment, though his voice is oddly hushed for his usual attitude. 

"No," Cor glances back over his shoulder again, taking in the series of wide eyed expressions. "Had the tattoo since I was a teenager and first entered Mors' service. The scar is from where an assassin tried to shoot Regis and missed, luckily. Or unluckily, if you're me." 

For the first time in awhile, he's reminded of how _young_ most of the Glaives are. They've seen combat and its aftermath before, and they all have plenty of their own wounds and scars. All of them act like it doesn't bother them, with varying degrees of success. But the way they're looking at the scars that have built up on Cor's body makes him remember _being_ that young, that brash and upset and determined not to show it, because he was a soldier, and that's what he was supposed to do. 

He turns around, ignoring Nyx trying to grab his hips and letting them look at the rest of him instead; the blade scar along his ribs from that long ago battle with the Blademaster, a near miss bullet graze along the inside of one arm, another messy bullet impact and the surgical scar that went with its extraction low on his abdomen. 

But also the lion, its mane woven with sylleblossoms, that stalks down over his collarbone and chest, guarding his heart. The band around his upper arm, red cords knotted with the emblem of the Crownsguard, carrying with him a piece of his lost Genji Blade. The knot of flowers on one forearm; the spiky strength of gladiolus, graceful curling petals of an iris, and the small, star-shaped blossoms of night-blooming jasmine. 

He meets Drautos' eyes over their heads, and Titus smiles very slightly, only because Cor is the only one looking. He pushes away from the wall and circles around behind Cor, sliding arms around his waist and resting his chin on Cor's shoulder. 

"Don't worry kids," Titus says dryly enough that the Glaives collectively give him a dirty look. "For all his scars, the Marshal's not going anywhere. Don't you know he's Immortal?" 

Cor grimaces and kicks him in the shin, the solemn mood entirely dispelled.


End file.
